Student Blog
Classes

Fun Fridays: Fave Occupations Edition ⟩
April 22, 2016, by Joe

Classes What are OS/OT?

To cap off our Lifestyle Redesign course, we develop our own 5 week group program as a team. Each team gets to decide the theme or lifestyle area they want to address as a group; some group topics include “sensory strategies for wellness,” “life management skills” (e.g., finances, time management, etc.), and “healthy eating.” My group theme is “exploring recreation,” so each week, one of us leads the rest of the group in trying out a new recreational or leisure activity. Here’s a peak at some faves.

Check us out with our hip scarves! Our Lifestyle Redesign professor, Camille Dieterle, joined us in the dance too, but we were having too much fun to take any action shots.

Our group is also going to explore cooking, coloring, and gymnastics. It’s a really fun class, but I’m about ready for a nap . . .

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Rehabilitation with Motor Control ⟩
February 19, 2016, by Heather

Classes What are OS/OT?

Hello Springtime!

Apologies for my blogging absence these past few weeks – I have been extremely immersed in my classes. I am absolutely thrilled about my course load this semester. I am taking two required courses, Advanced Seminar in Occupational Science and Leadership Capstone. The electives that I am taking are Motor Control, Physical Agent Modalities, Hand Rehabilitation, and an Independent Study in Human Anatomy. The classes overlap very well, and I find myself learning a great deal in the areas of practice that I am most passionate about.

The Motor Control course takes place at Rancho Los Amigos Hospital, or as we call it, “Rancho.” Rancho is well known for its rehabilitation program, especially its occupational therapy programs. Many of the case studies that we have learned about in class have come straight from patients at Rancho, or from our professor’s clinical experience working at Rancho. Many of USC’s OT doctorate candidates and doctors practice at Rancho, and are actively involved in the Motor Control class.

The Motor Control class is focused on stroke rehabilitation in Rancho’s inpatient unit. This is very meaningful for me because of my history of working with my grandma after she suffered from a stroke. My experience of working with her is what led me to occupational therapy in the first place. It made me realize that I liked being in the position of helping others as I witnessed her recovery. Sometimes it takes a crisis to realize what you are good at.

So far in Motor Control, I have drawn upon my knowledge of human anatomy, physiology, kinesiology, and body biomechanics. We are largely focused on getting certain muscle groups activated in our clients. (Side bar: we practice on each other for a few weeks before we are introduced to actual patients in the second half of the course). We are taught that before we can work on ADLs/IADLs with a patient, we need to ensure that they can move in certain ways for functional performance. We begin by facilitating movement at the pelvis, and then move on to the trunk and scapula. If we cannot facilitate movement easily, we mobilize these certain areas which requires a more hands-on approach. Additionally, we learn how to use orthotics and tools that have proven to be effective in stroke rehabilitation. With practice and clinical experience, we will begin to realize what treatment techniques will be most useful for our patients to regain function.

I have learned from Motor Control, and from my Grandma’s recovery, that the basic tenet of stroke rehabilitation stems from the idea that all activity should be purposeful in recovery. I look forward to working directly with the patients in the second half of the course.

This class has truly united my vocation with my avocation, and I am so thrilled to be even further along my road to becoming a licensed OT in just a few months!

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Hands-On Learning! ⟩
February 4, 2016, by Jodie

Classes What are OS/OT?

This semester I am taking Occupation-Based Adult Neurorehabilitation, Hand Rehabilitation and Occupational Therapy in Acute Care as my elective courses. Although we are only four weeks into this semester, I have already learned so much and am fascinated by all my classes! Each elective course provides such a comprehensive review of the course topics and allows for very hands-on learning opportunities. Throughout our program we get to see course content applied in practice through both our Level I and Level II fieldwork experiences however, this semester we get to apply course concepts on ourselves and our classmates and really hone in on our skills as practitioners before we graduate!

In my acute care class, we have the opportunity to shadow occupational therapists at Keck Hospital of USC, our world-renowned academic medical center. These clinical experiences coincide with lecture content and significantly enhance the learning experience. In my occupation-based adult neurorehabilitation class, we have both a lecture and lab portion. During lab, we get very hands-on practicing various neurorehabilitation techniques that we learn in class that day. Again, this opportunity to practice what we’re learning and clinically apply concepts from lecture has really made this semester so enjoyable and enriching. This week in neurorehab class, we practiced kinesiotaping and dynamic taping techniques on each other. Here are a few pictures from all the fun we had while learning and practicing this technique!

How did we do??

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A Sneak Peek into our SChedule and Classes! ⟩
January 28, 2016, by Rashelle

Classes School/Life Balance

Here’s a visual representation of our semester class schedule!

To break it down for you:

Mondays
We are typically all together in the lecture hall, learning core elements that are essential to our profession (ex: health and wellness, behavioral neuroscience, adulthood and aging, clinical reasoning & therapeutic use of self).

Tuesdays
You meet with your cohort in your semester-specific practice immersion (either Adult Physical Rehabilitation, Mental Health or Pediatrics), in a room that holds about 1/3 of your class, or about 45 people.

Wednesdays
Last semester, when this screenshot of my schedule was taken, I had my fieldwork day on Wednesday! We spend a full day at a site, relevant to our practice immersion, which offers us a chance to observe treatments with people in real life.

Thursdays
Every week for 3 hours, you will be enrolled in a lab that matches your practice immersion. This lab contains ½ of your cohort, or about 22 people, and gives you hands-on experience to practice certain assessments or techniques on your fellow classmates! You will also have another core class emphasizing the importance of research, so that we may incorporate evidence-based practice in therapy.

Fridays
Days off! People use this time to work, research, or relax. This past Friday was actually our annual OT Vegas Trip! It was so nice to participate in ALL my favorite occupations as we hiked, ate at buffets, danced, and socialized throughout it all!

Shout out to the MA-I students who are from various countries, and taught me so much about international OT practices! So happy I got to bond with you all this trip!

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The Highs and Highers of 2015 ⟩
January 14, 2016, by Rashelle

Classes School/Life Balance

Happy New Year everyone!

In a nutshell, 2015 was a tremendous year! I graduated with my Bachelor’s of Science in Occupational Therapy from USC, I completed my final two practice immersions in pediatrics and adult physical rehabilitation, then, I ultimately said farewell to my amazing cohort.

I developed a community project proposal, which I could envision myself implementing as I become a more seasoned clinician; I learned how to cook easy, cheap and healthy meals; and I created everlasting friendships with my OT friends through our class trips to Big Bear Mountain, Las Vegas, and every pocket of Los Angeles from Venice Beach, Santa Monica, Korea Town, Little Tokyo, Hollywood, Pasadena and Downtown Los Angeles. 

Through all of these events, I’ve grown as an individual professionally, personally, socially, spiritually, and thankfully avoided growing horizontally! When thinking about all the ways in which I’ve matured, I’ve realized that I can owe almost all of it to being in this program. The occupational therapy program at USC truly embraces the holistic lens of our profession, cultivating individuals in every aspect of their lives. For example, in classes such as Health Promotion and Wellness, we are guided in exercises promoting self-analysis and goal setting, in order to integrate healthy habits into our daily lives. Not only is stress management crucial for our future patients, but also relevant in our own lives as graduate students! Furthermore, in the OT & Faith bible study, which took place during lunch, we learned about the overlap between our personal beliefs and professionalism.

Then, just a few days ago we had our first class in our leadership capstone course. While each class we have taken thus far emphasizes becoming a leader in whichever practice area we pursue, I am excited to learn about specific qualities, traits, actions and leadership styles that will help me excel further in life. Lastly, while we are no longer studying our practice immersions in cohorts, I am looking forward to delving into electives of interest with new classmates — particularly those from the Post-Professional Master’s Degree (MA I) Program, and the Doctorate of Occupational Therapy (OTD) Program. While 2015 was glorious, I know that 2016 will provide even more memories to cherish as we come to the end of our program, and enter the real world.

Ready or not, here we come (shortly)!

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